Setback refrigerator



April 26, 1949; Q, 1 C. EARLE y 2,468,719 S-ETBAGK RERIGERATOR Filed June 2o, 1945 COLD CON72OL5W/7'C/ Patented Apr. 26, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT DFF ICE SETBACK REFRIGERATOR :Guyon lL. C. Earle, Forest Hills, N. Y., assigner to Hugh S. Wei-tz, trustee for the beneficiaries of the Earle @Patents 'Trust pplicatin J'un'e'20, 1945, "Serial No. .600,51'9

8 Claims.

This invention relates -to refrigerators and more specifically to refrigerators of v'the set-back type.

rPatent 2,180,460 issued November 21, -1'939 to Guyon L. C. Earle discloses a refrigerator of the set-back type, that is one which has an upper portionthe 'front plane -of which is placed to the rear of the front plane o'f the lower or base portion. A table-top member is provided for that part of the top of the `lower portion which is in front of the upper portion. The present invention in one of its primary aspects relates 'to refrigerators of this general type.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved refrigerator of the set-back type.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved refrigerator'of this type having a frozen food compartment therein.

It is still another object of this invention to provide, in a refrigerator of the set-back type, novel means for preventing the door or doors of a compartment, having 'a temperature Ltherein `below freezing, from lbecoming frozen shut.

In accordance with the present invention,

there is provided, by way of example for illustrative purposes, a refrigerator of the set-back type which is provided with evaporator coils Vor other cooling elements in the upper portion thereof and, in addition, 'one or more-evaporator coils or other cooling elements in the lower portion thereof. The coils in the upper portion surround or are adjacent to a closed compartment within the upper portion of the'refrigerator and are adapted to maintain this compartment at a temperature well below freezing such as, Vfor example, as low as or near zero vdegrees F. The upper portion of the refrigerator is -separated from the lower portion thereof by a partition and the cooling elements for this lower 'portion are preferably located at one side of the top thereof and/or at the upper vside portion of the rear wall of this lower portion. The lower portion is provided with a plurality of drawers and the cooling elements in this portion set up a fairly rapid circulation behind the drawers and a slower, substantially horizontal circulation in each of the drawers. The lower portion is maintained at a temperature of about 40 to `50-degrees F. and thus is considerably warmer than the closed compartment `in the upper portion. This closed compartmentin theupper portion has one vor more doors V(inside the outer doors of the upper portion). VBotlfrth'eouter'and the inner doors would tend `to freeze shut 'were it -notfor-a :novel feature ofthe present invention. The partition between the upper and lower portions is provided with "one or more holes, or a slit, in front of the inner 'doors and the warmer air from the lower Aportion lrises through these holes lor slit and prevents the louter doors from becoming frozen shut 'and also helps to keep the inner doors (which do not make a tight fit with the sides of the cornpartmen't) lfrom doing likewise. This or another :hole -i-n the 'partition between the upper and 'lower portions 'of the refrigerator can be provided un- Ader the cooling element in the upper portion to permit-drip water -to iiow to a suitable container in `theftopdrawer i-n the Alower portion. The cooling 'elements in the lower portion can be in the same closed cooling circuit with those in the upper portion or they can 'be in a different circuit. Even 'if they fare 'in different vcircuits, a single compressor 'is usually su'iiicient. Individual cooling lcontrols can be `provided for the cooling elements 'Sin 'the Vupper fand lower portions of the refrigerator.

'The invention will be more readily understood by referring to the following description taken fin connection with the accompanying Adraisiiing 'forming a part thereof in which:

Fig. 1 is a side cross-sectional elevation view of a refrigerator in accordance with this invention; 'and Fig. f2 is a front perspective View of the re- `frig'erator of Fig. 1.

vReferring more particularly to the drawing, Figs. 1 :and 2 show, by way of example for illustrative purposes, a refrigerator ID of the setback "type in -accordance with the invention. 'This comprises a lower insulated refrigerated portion VI I, an upper insulated refrigerated portion I2 the front rof which is generally in a plane `which is behind the plane of the front of the lower portion II, and a table-top member I3, preferably lof stainless steel or 'Monel metal, positioned on top of that part of the lower portion I I which is in front of the upper portion I2. The entire refrigerator is preferably mounted on a recessed ibase I4. A partition member I5 is provided be- "tween the upper and lowerportions.

The upper portion I2 is provided with an evaporator '20 comprising coils 2'I or other cooling means which are connected 'by means of pipes 22 tothe compressor-condenser unit 41 shown scheymatic'allya'sa'boX `'II at the back of the refriger- Jat'or -but which may be of any convenient form v'ai-id located elsewhere, as at the side of the refr'gerator, for example. The lower portion II is "provided with Yan evaporator 23 which 'comprises foils or fa plate 241ocated at one side of the lower surface of the table-top member I3 and coils or a plate 25 located contiguous to the upper rear wall 26 of the lower enclosure member on the same side as the cooling member 24. The evaporator 23 is connected to the compressor-condenser unit 41 through the pipes 21.

Within or adjacent the evaporator 20 is a closed compartment 28 extending over the entire width of the upper portion of the refrigerator. This compartment has metal walls and is sufficiently large to hold several ice cube trays and a, quantity of food which it is desired to maintain at very low temperatures. The compartment 28 has doors 29 and 30, preferably of metal, and the temperature within its walls can be maintained at a suitable temperature, for example or 20 F., by means of cold control switch 3|. plicity in the drawings the connections for the switch 3| have not been shown. Outer insulated doors 32 and 33 are provided as closure members for the upper refrigerated portion |2.

The lower refrigerated portion I| is provided with a plurality of drawers 40, 4|, 42 and 43 to hold food and other articles to be refrigerated:-

If desired one or more of the lower drawers 4|, 42 and 43 can be longer than the top one in order to provide better circulation of cold air to these lower drawers. For a more complete description of set-back refrigerators employingI drawers, reference is made to Patent 2,312,326 issued March 2, 1943 to Guyon L. C. Earle. In this Earle patent, however, the cooling coils are located entirely in the upper portion of the re` frigerator (or substantially so) while in the present invention much (if not all) of the cooling of the space in the lower portion I of the `refrigerator is accomplished by the evaporator 23 as the upper portion I2 is almost entirely divorced from the upper portion I by the partition I5. This partition in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention has one or more.

holes 44, or a slit, therein at the front portion thereof so that the warmer air from the lower enclosure member |I (since the evaporator 23 is preferably controlled by the cold control switch l 45 so that the temperature in the lower portion I I is somewhere between freezing and 50 F.) can be utilized to prevent freezing of the doors. This warmer air rises into the space 43 between the inner doors 29 and 30 and the outer doors 32 and 33 and prevents them from becoming frozen shut. Some of the colder air from the upper enclosure member I2 also drops into the lower portion through the holes or slit 44. The partition I5 is preferably of insulation but it may be of metal. Drip water from the upper enclosure member can pass through the holes 44 or through another hole (not shown) into a drip catch basin 46 in the upper drawer 40.

The operation of the refrigerator shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will now be described. Refrigerant made to circulate through the evaporator causes heat to be taken from the upper refrigerated portion I 2. The cold dial or switch 3| controls the degree of cold in this portion and preferably it is set so that the temperature of the compartment 28 for ice cubes and frozen food is less than freezing. At the same time by means of the evaporator 23 the lower portion of the refrigerator is cooled, the cold air from the member dropping into the upper drawer and also setting up a relatively rapid circulation or current of cold air in back of the drawers as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. Cold air is taken from this current and caused to flow into the lower drawers 4I, 42 and 43 to 4 set up a horizontal circulation in each of them. Moreover, as these drawers are preferably of metal there is a transfer of cold by conduction., Holes may be placed in the bottoms of the upperl drawers to assist the circulation but this is usually not necessary. Radiation also assists in the refrigeration of both upper and lower portions of, the refrigerator. The temperature in the lower portion is controlled by the cold control switch to make it somewhere between freezing and F. If desired, a single cold control switch can replace the switches 3| and 45 and both evaporators placed in the same cooling circuit, the dimensions of the coils or other cooling members being proportioned so that the upper portion of the refrigerator is made colder than the lower'.I portion thereof. The warmer air from the lowerl portion rises through the holes 44 to circulate in the space 46 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 2.

While there have been shown and particularly described certain embodiments of the inventionr for the purpose of explaining its principles and showing its applications, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modications and variations are possible and it is therefore intended to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A iirst insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said first member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said secon-d member is set back from the front of said rst member, a table-top member above that portion of the first member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of drawers in said first member, means in said first member for refrigerating said rst member to a. temperature below room temperature but above freezing, a

closed compartment having a door in said second member, means in said second member for refrigerating the compartment in said second member to a temperature below freezing, and a partition member between said two enclosure members, said partition member having` a relatively small opening in the front thereof whereby the warmer air in the rst member warms the air in said second member in front of the door in said compartment.

2. A rst insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said first member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said secon-d member is set back from the front of said first member, a table-top member above that portion of the iirst member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of Adrawers in said first member, means in said iirst member for refrigerating said first member, means in said second member for refrigerating said second member, outer doors for said second member, inner doors in said second member adjacent the refrigerating means therein, cold control means for maintaining the temperature in said second member colder than that of said rst member, and a partition member between said two enclosure members which has a relatively small opening therein in such position that the air from said iirst member rises between said outer and inner doors in said second member to prevent said doors from becoming frozen shut.

3. A first insulated enclosure memberv adapted to be refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said first member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said second member is set back from the front of said first member, a table-top member above that portion of the rst member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of drawers in said rst member, means in said rst member for refrigerating said iirst member, means in said second member for refrigerating said second member, said refrigerating means in said first enclosure comprising a cooling member located directly under the top of said first member and being positioned so that at least the major portion thereof is on one side of the front-to-rear center line of said top.

4. A first insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said rst member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said second member is set back from the front of said rst member, a table-top member above that portion of the first member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of drawers in said first member, means in said rst member for rerigerating said rst member, means in said second member for refrigerating said second member, said refrigerating means in said first enclosure comprising a portion located directly under the top of said first member and being positioned so that at least the major portion thereof is on one side of the front-to-rear center line of said top and a second portion 1ocated near the rear wall of said rst enclosure.

5. A rst insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said rst member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said second member is set back from the front of said first member, a table-top member above that portion of the first member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of drawers in f' said rst member, means in said first member for refrigerating said first member to a temperature below room temperature but above freezing, a closed compartment having a door in said second member, means in said second member for refrigerating the compartment in said second member to a temperature below freezing, and a partition member between said two enclosure members, said partition member having a relatively small opening in the front thereof whereby the warmer air in the rst member warms the air in said second member in front of the door in said compartment, said closed compartment occupying most of the space in said second enclosure member and being provided with space for ice cube trays and for foods to be maintained below freezing.

6. A refrigerator comprising a first insulated enclosure member adapted to abe refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said first member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said second member is set back from the front of said first member, a table-top member above that portion of the first member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of drawers in said first member, means in said rst member for refrigerating said rst member, means in said second member for refrigerating said second member, and a partition member between said two enclosure members, said partition having a relatively small opening therein at the front only thereof and being of insulating material.

"1. The combination of elements as in claim 6 in which both of said refrigerating means are positioned so that at least the major portion of each is on the same side of the front-to-rear center line of said refrigerator.

8. A first insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, a second insulated enclosure member adapted to be refrigerated, said second member being smaller than said rst member and positioned above it in such a way that the front of said second member is set back from the front of said first member, a table-top member above that portion of the first member which is in front of the second member, a plurality of drawers in said first member, means in first member for refrigerating said first member, means in said second member for refrigerating said second member, and a partition member between said two enclosure members and `being of metal, at least a portion of the refrigerating means in said rst member being closely adjacent said partition.

GUYON L. C. EARLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,156,668 Staggs May 2, 1939 2,319,522 Schweller May 18, 1943 2,328,130 Earle Aug. 31, 1943 2,341,183 Loewy Feb. 8, 1944 2,368,294 Giiard Jan. 30, 1945 

